Feeling Of Empty Compositions.

This feeling of incomplete satisfaction while composing is killing me. I always compose a few measure with a feeling "this is gonna be something" and as time goes by I grow uneasy to continue because I feel it is too weak/empty/unoriginal. My previous piano teacher who I still meet from time to time says she loves some of my works and offers me to make CD in her friends studio so I think they are not bad for other people to listen to and have pretty catchy tunes but even when she says it's perfect and beautiful in some measures I still don't feel it is as it should be. No matter what other say I tend to agree with those who say something critical about my compositions rather than those who plainly say it's catchy, soothing and very nice.

I assume the thing is that I see that my tunes are good enough for other people but not enough for me {too much of self-critisicsm?}. All of the melodies are too sweet or cliche. I try to listen to contemporary music, minimalist, hell even pop every day to find something that is missing in the world of music and that can make my music more interesting and less unoriginal yet fail to be even remotely happy with what I come up with for a longer period of time.

The piano and composition teacher advised me to finish the works I showed her to solve this problem but I have no relation to them and feel like loosing time trying to work with them and start over and over again. That's why I am turning here for advice. I think I need a little push from people through their opinions. What do you think is the problem and solution?

I actually had a similar problem, so I can kind of relate. My problem was that I couldn't even figure out a beginning to a piece without thinking that it sounds kinda dull or similar to another piece which I heard somewhere though. Then I looked back at my older compositions and asked myself how I managed to finish those pieces and always be convinced that it's going to become a great piece. And then I figured out that the thing which always helped me out when I wanted to write a song but wasn't sure how to start or to continue is "Inspiration". I'm not sure if it would help you as much as it helped me but when I wanted to be inspired I watched a great anime or listened to some of my favorite artists. And sometimes I even felt an urge to just compose and compose, although I didn't plan to, till I finished a piece to just express my emotions through music.

Another thing you could try is to just try something different, something you have never done before like for example composing a piano piece which should be played with chopsticks (such a piece actually exists btw). I don't think you will think that the melody is too sweet or too cliche if you compose something experimental.

I don't know in which stiles you usually compose but if you like to compose orchestral piece you could try using different instruments than you usually do. Or if you are like me and like many diverse musical stiles you could try composing in other genres like electro, techno or metal. Well, those are some things you could try.

The most important thing in all kinds of art is in my opinion that you, the artist, like your creations. If you would just do things which others like but you don't, then you would loose fun in creating those things and you would either start creating bad stuff or just quit. That's why I think that it's important to find a solution to that problem. I'm not sure if you will find someone who can help you out that easily or if you may have to search for a solution yourself.

I hope I managed to help you somehow and hopefully you'll be able to compose pieces which you like soon! ^^

I think you are right about the inspiration. Sometimes I maybe just push my self to composing even when I don't want to and that results in improvisations without goal. I'll try to make inspirational emotions flowing somehow and see how it goes.

Thanks for the answer  :).

I actually had a similar problem, so I can kind of relate. My problem was that I couldn't even figure out a beginning to a piece without thinking that it sounds kinda dull or similar to another piece which I heard somewhere though. Then I looked back at my older compositions and asked myself how I managed to finish those pieces and always be convinced that it's going to become a great piece. And then I figured out that the thing which always helped me out when I wanted to write a song but wasn't sure how to start or to continue is "Inspiration". I'm not sure if it would help you as much as it helped me but when I wanted to be inspired I watched a great anime or listened to some of my favorite artists. And sometimes I even felt an urge to just compose and compose, although I didn't plan to, till I finished a piece to just express my emotions through music.

 

Another thing you could try is to just try something different, something you have never done before like for example composing a piano piece which should be played with chopsticks (such a piece actually exists btw). I don't think you will think that the melody is too sweet or too cliche if you compose something experimental.

I don't know in which stiles you usually compose but if you like to compose orchestral piece you could try using different instruments than you usually do. Or if you are like me and like many diverse musical stiles you could try composing in other genres like electro, techno or metal. Well, those are some things you could try.

 

The most important thing in all kinds of art is in my opinion that you, the artist, like your creations. If you would just do things which others like but you don't, then you would loose fun in creating those things and you would either start creating bad stuff or just quit. That's why I think that it's important to find a solution to that problem. I'm not sure if you will find someone who can help you out that easily or if you may have to search for a solution yourself.

 

I hope I managed to help you somehow and hopefully you'll be able to compose pieces which you like soon! ^^

You have someone who would like to record your work in a studio and this is what you are worried about?  (:  First, so many people would love the opportunity to have their work recorded, but can't do it, so you should.  Even if you aren't totally happy with the work. Second, don't worry about being totally happy with it, just finish it, and move on to the next one.  That is how you grow.  No one's early work is very good.  Finish one piece so you can get on to the next piece, which will be slightly better.  The next will be slightly better than that…  Don't worry about it, just stay sitting in the chair until you have made something.  The key to getting better is to make LOTS of work.  No one makes one perfect piece.  You make LOTS of pieces, and the good ones will be played and remembered, and the bad ones will be forgotten.  History will sort out the good ones from the bad, but you need to keep writing so you can keep growing.  And if you finish pieces, you can get them out into the world and get some feedback that will help you keep growing.  Just keep going.  Don't worry about it being perfect.  

I get that kind of feeling regularly but I find if I just keep trying new things and honing the skills I am weak at I can overcome it and gain satisfaction again. If you are unhappy with what you previously felt to be good it means that your perception has changed and is a sign of improvement. Even though you don't feel happy you are in the stage that allows for the next level of growth as a musician and if you stick to the grindstone you WILL be able to improve. I think the idea that art is just self-expression and exploring your emotions is completely wrong, art is the field that requires constant dissatisfaction and humiliation to achieve any kind of greatness.

Well, maybe not humiliation…  that's a bit harsh…  (:

I tend to get stuck when I'm too stubborn to change what I already have. Also, I sometimes don't want to bother experimenting with something new because it might be rubbish. What I often forget is if I don't try something, then how do I know whether its good or not? I feel at my most creative when I'm writing something without requiring it to fit in a specific place within the piece. Part of the skill is to fit these ideas and themes together seamlessly, which I find much harder if I always write the piece 'in the right order'.

This might not be a good approach though, I've not been doing this long..
lol

I don't think this is an uncommon issue for composers. I suffer from this feeling too. However, pate (if I may shorten it thus) is right. You are incredibly fortunate to be ably to get your work recorded. Use this opportunity to continue to develop and don't ever stop developing. Not everything you compose has to be brilliant. Think of each piece you write as an exercise. You are strengthening your ability to compose with each piece you write.

Also, don't let composition become a burden. The more you feel pressured to compose a certain way to a certain standard, the less likely you will be to produce something you love. While you should definitely hold yourself to a general standard of quality, it's easy to become disillusioned with it if you're constantly undermining yourself mentally. Sometimes, I listen to the first music I ever wrote and think how much more I love it than what I'm composing now. It's because I wasn't yet weighed down by comparing myself to others and thinking about whether it's going to be perfect or brilliant. You can hear the difference in the music.

And don't ever feel humiliated. Perhaps the word he (version782) was searching for was humbled. It does take humility to become great. Expecting every piece to become a great one and being upset when it doesn't turn out that way is not humble at all and will only make you miserable.

Well, putting such a private side of yourself out there is humiliating, regardless of how satisfied you are with the composition. On premiering one of his symphonies Wilhelm Furtwängler commented that he felt like a little girl undressing in a room full of perverts.

Well, putting such a private side of yourself out there is humiliating, regardless of how satisfied you are with the composition. On premiering one of his symphonies Wilhelm Furtwängler commented that he felt like a little girl undressing in a room full of perverts.

How did he feel when he wrote it?

lol

... like a little girl undressing in a room full of perverts.

No thread in YC can be considered as complete without some kind of allusion at pedophilia. :huh: ...

But there's something real about that feeling - a composer is sharing some of his spiritual intimacy and placing it before an audience. Luckily, music always retains some mysterious quality that allows for a composer to voice his own secrets through it without fear that they can be fully understood. As long as a composer remains true to himself, there's no way that his works can be considered as 'empty'.

I wonder if it ever gets better?  What must it be like to be born an over-confident jerk?  It must be so much easier to get things done when you think you are awesome all the time.  Of course, then you get to have a wreck of an inter-personal life and everyone tends to hate you.  But I bet you get stuff done like nobody's business!  Self-doubt is a sign of respect for others and their opinions.  

 Self-doubt is a sign of respect for others and their opinions.  

To be fair, most people have pretty lousy opinions.